FOIA

The change would essentially allow the government to lie to requesters of information through FOIA by saying that it had no relevant documents, even when it did. Transparency advocates were up in arms about the proposed change....According to a press release just posted by the ACLU, the Department of Justice has withdrawn the proposed rule change....

Information leaks have made such compelling local (Chris Christie) and global (Wikileaks) headlines in large part because of the culture of government secrecy they upend. There's little question that government agencies complicit in truly dangerous or cruel activities don't want us to know what they're up to. Public records laws like the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are intended to protect the rights of Americans by providing for more transparency in government. Access to information is crucial to protect animals -- because secrecy allows violations to continue. That is why the national nonprofit Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) must take on so many cases where the government attempts to prevent full disclosure of public records.